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In a notable move for their overhauling roster, the South Side team have signed infielder Munetaka Murakami, completing a two-year contract bringing in the power-hitting player.

Contract Details and Incentives

The agreement includes a substantial signing bonus, to be paid within 30 days, combined with annual pay of $16 million for the upcoming season and $17 million for the 2027 year.

Importantly, Murakami's 2027 salary is subject to escalators based on award achievements in 2026:

• A seven-figure bonus for being named the league MVP award.
• $500K for placing in the top three in MVP voting.
• $250,000 for finishing in the top ten.
• $250,000 for being named the Rookie of the Year honor.

The agreement provides that he cannot be sent to the minor leagues without his permission and allows him to become a unrestricted player at the termination of the term. Further benefits include a team-provided interpreter and flight reimbursement between Japan and the U.S..

Transfer Payment and Historical Context

As part of the signing, Chicago is obligated to provide a posting fee of roughly $6.58 million to the Swallows, Murakami's former team in Japan's professional league. The Swallows are also entitled to a 15% cut of 15% triggered performance bonuses.

Murakami will become the fourth player from Japan to suit up for the White Sox, in the footsteps of reliever Shingo Takatsu (2004-05), infielder Tadahito Iguchi (2005-07), and fielder Kosuke Fukudome (2012). Notably, Takatsu was a manager for Murakami while both were in Japan.

Career Highlights

Murakami, a left-handed hitter who turns 26 in February, bolsters a emerging core of hitters in Chicago that contains prospects like Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, and Chase Meidroth. The club are finished with a last-place season, finishing at the bottom in the division but showing a 19-game improvement from the prior campaign.

Having earned league MVP honors in consecutive seasons, Murakami is famous for a record-breaking 2022 season where he hit 56 home runs, surpassing the longstanding record for a player in Japan formerly held by legend Sadaharu Oh. That feat also made him the youngest player ever to achieve Japan's prestigious Triple Crown.

His most recent NPB campaign was curtailed to just 56 appearances due to an muscle issue. Even with fanning 64 Ks, he still managed .273 with 22 home runs and 47 RBIs.

Over his eight-year tenure with the Swallows, Murakami has compiled a .270 career batting average with 246 HRs, 647 runs batted in, and nearly 1,000 strikeouts in 892 contests. He started playing primarily at first, he has spent most of his time to third.

WBC Heroics

Murakami's big-game performance were on global view during the last World Baseball Classic. In the semifinal against Mexico, he hit a game-ending two-base hit that drove in Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida for a come-from-behind one-run win. The next night in the championship game against the USA, he slugged a game-tying home run in the early innings, paving the way for Japan's eventual title triumph.

The new White Sox addition is set to be formally introduced at a press conference on the coming Monday.